Once upon a time in Erebor
by TheShinigamiUchiha
Summary: Thranduil decides to save the dwarven prince, not caring how much it will affect him... And not quite knowing it either. Rated M just to be safe.


**Pairing** : Thorinduil (Thorin/Thranduil)

 **Source & disclaimer**: The Hobbit which is written by J.R.R. Tolkien - I own nothing except a couple of OC's and the idea for this story.

 **Warnings** : The characters are quite... OOC. Check the author's note in the end for this.

And check the author's note anyway.

 _"_ _Once upon a time_

 _There was a king_

 _With his stag_

 _As fast as the wind_

 _And when the battle started_

 _He arrived to win_

 _But when it was over_

 _He committed a sin…"_

Thranduil, the Elven King of Mirkwood, was neither stupid nor insane. A bit arrogant, yes, and sometimes a bit hard-headed but one could never call him a fool – yet this clever elf committed a sin which was considered one of the deadly sins in Mirkwood. The sin was also only theoretical since nobody believed it would be possible; to wake one from the dead.

The king had stopped in his tracks when he had seen the corpse of Thorin Oakenshield, the Prince under the Mountain. The one who had almost become the King under the Mountain. The one who now lied on the ice, Thranduil by his side.

Thorin's facial expression was quite relaxed, he looked like he could've been sleeping. He looked so peaceful. The elf sighed. Erebor was now saved and Mirkwood wasn't in danger anymore either but only one of the kingdoms had a king. Erebor would need one. Fili and Kili were both dead, Thranduil had seen Tauriel weeping beside Kili's body and he himself had spotted Fili's corpse. That meant that there was no heir in the line of Durin, nobody who would receive the crown – except if he did something which wasn't accepted at all. It was against all the ethical rules, against the laws of the nature but Thranduil couldn't help himself. He was the one who was said to have the heart of ice but deep inside he still felt guilty about leaving Erebor sixty years ago when his help would have been needed.

He studied Thorin's corpse for a while. At least it was the full corpse there – looking for someone's head or arm would have been quite unpleasant task to do. The elf kneeled beside Thorin then, once more checking his surroundings; he couldn't be seen. He knew that he was committing a crime but he was also quite positive that he had found Thorin first. The king took a deep breath and begun to memorize the spell he had once read about. When he was quite sure that he remembered every line of it he started to chant, feeling lucky that nobody saw him.

Little did he know that he was wrong.

 _"_ _There was a Hobbit_

 _So brave yet cynical_

 _His heart was weeping_

 _All his thoughts about the burial_

 _But then he saw the deadly sin_

 _Committed by the pure_

 _Elven King…"_

Bilbo Baggins had, indeed, been weeping nearby when he had heard footsteps. During the months that had passed all too quickly he had learnt to recognize the steps and he was quite sure that it was an elf approaching Thorin's body. But when he took a look he almost had a heart failure – it was the Elven King of Mirkwood himself! To be honest, Bilbo couldn't decide what he thought about Thranduil. The king was icy but he had come to help the dwarves this time so Bilbo concluded that the elf couldn't be totally evil.

He watched Thranduil kneeling beside Thorin and closing his eyes for a while. When they opened the elf looked a bit different; Bilbo just couldn't place it.

Then he felt it.  
The elven magic, the purity – except this one felt different in the air, it was thicker, actually so thick that after a while Bilbo felt like choking. And if something causes one to choke it couldn't be a good thing, right? So the Hobbit continued watching the two silhouettes on the ice. His eyes widened when he understood what Thranduil was doing. The elf's hands were shaking, his skin was losing its colour and just in a couple of minutes it seemed like he was transferring his life power into Thorin's body.

After a few more minutes it became apparent that Bilbo was right.

First the one lying on the ice opened up his eyes, blinking them a few times. The Hobbit guessed that the dwarf was just a bit shocked, especially physically (well, he had just been brought back from dead) so he couldn't feel pain. But now Bilbo was wrong. While waking Thorin from the dead Thranduil had also healed the dwarf as good as he could – which, by the way, was quite a good thing. The elves were great healers and, well, even though Thranduil was a king he was still an elf.

Bilbo watched when Thorin Oakenshield sat up and stared into the elven king's eyes, his own eyes full of questions.

But it was apparent that Thranduil was exhausted. The blond king couldn't answer to the dwarf's gaze and suddenly he just collapsed in Thorin's lap. Bilbo watched for a while, shaking his head. Of course he was happy that Thorin was alive and nobody except the elves in Mirkwood would be angry – but now the Hobbit was worried about Thranduil. He would be hated by his people, or well, elves.

Bilbo shook his head again and sighed. He had read about the spell he had just seen Thranduil performing and knew exactly what would happen. _The Elven King Thranduil, what have you done?_ he thought. _When the elves understand that you've given half of your life to the dwarf and on top of that become a mortal yourself, you will be hated, the King of Mirkwood._

 _"_ _There was a dwarf_

 _A royal, a prince_

 _Who had fought the dragon_

 _And been bitter ever since_

 _The next battle_

 _Cost his life_

 _But someone brought him back_

 _What a brilliant mind…"_

Thorin, son of Thráin, son of Thrór, had opened his eyes just to see the elven king kneeling beside him. Now the said king was lying on his lap when he himself was trying to figure out what was happening. He remembered clearly that he had confessed to Bilbo that the Hobbit wasn't that bad after all. After those words everything had went black.

He had been reaching the light he had seen when something had started to pull him back, back to the darkness and through it. Now awaken he felt strange; the world was spinning a bit but despite that he felt more powerful and lively than ever. Not bad when considering the fact that he had just been woken from being dead.

Thranduil had collapsed right after he had awoken and now the only option he had was to carry the elf to Erebor, through the dark tunnels to the quarters of the king, once owned by his grandfather and now… They belonged to him.

The thought was surreal. Only a few months ago he had been only dreaming about claiming Erebor back from the deadly dragon, Smaug, who had been living in the Mountain for the past sixty years. Now they had succeeded – not alone, of course, but now Erebor belonged to the dwarves again. Surely everything had its price and Thorin was quite sad when he thought about Fili and Kili; one of them should have been the king after his death but it was no longer possible.

When he walked and walked before finally reaching the beginning of the tunnels he had a lot of time to think. He had no idea what Thranduil had done but apparently something which had brought the dwarg back to life but cost the elf quite a lot. To be honest he had never seen an elf fainting before. Something must have happened to Thranduil – and Thorin had no idea what. He decided to ask Legolas about it, it was the young elf prince's father who now lied unconscious in the arms of the dwarf king after all.

After some time the dwarf finally reached the quarters of the king, all dusty and dirty but not that badly broken. He laid the elf to the nearest bed, watching the blond for a while. At least the elven king was breathing – but of course he was, what a stupid thought, the elves couldn't die since they were immortal! Thorin almost laughed out loud and it was likely that he would have laughed if someone wouldn't have grabbed his shoulder and whispered into his ear "What have you done to my father?" in the most venomous tone Thorin had ever heard in his life.

 _"_ _The elf had a son_

 _A prince, one could say_

 _Growing more and more hateful_

 _By each passing day_

 _And when the dwarf_

 _Had been awoken_

 _He had been able to feel it_

 _His blood line had been broken…"_

Legolas Thranduilion stared at the dwarf, his gaze shining with pure hostility. When he had noticed Thorin carrying his father he had decided to follow the dwarf. To be honest he had never seen his father like this. The thing that worried him even more, however, was the fact that he had felt something changing. He wasn't able to understand what was happening; the feeling had been pretty unpleasant even though it had only lasted for ten seconds or so. Of course the elven prince had read about this since he had read a lot; it was said that when the bloodline of immortality was broken it caused the other ones in that line to feel unpleasant, not nauseous or dizzy but mentally unpleasant.

When Legolas had seen the dwarf carrying the elf he had understood that Thorin had something to do with the fact that the line had been broken. It wouldn't have the effect on Legolas; no, the lacking of immortality would be a curse only to the one who performed a spell so dark and powerful that not many elves had been able to perform it correctly.

It was also against the laws of the nature too and those were the main two reasons why the spell was now considered as one of the twelve deadly sins of Mirkwood – or actually, each race of the elves considered this spell as a deadly sin. What the hell his father had been thinking, Legolas didn't know, but it went without saying that things were terribly wrong now just because of one dwarf who had wanted his gold back. Legolas almost grimaced at the thought.

Meantime Thorin had overcome his shock and now his eyes were burning with fury. "I did absolutely nothing to your father! Actually I could say that he was the one who did something, not me! I was going to ask you about it actually" the dwarf said quite angrily. Even though the elves weren't as bad as he had thought he still couldn't take all the blaming those beautiful creatures shot at him – especially when he was by no means the guilty one. If he had had a choice he wouldn't have spoken to Legolas at all but throwing the prince out of his kingdom wouldn't do any good for his own reputation and he also needed the answers.

Legolas stared at the dwarf. Thorin seemed honestly confused so it was possible that the dwarf didn't actually know what had happened. And he might not have asked anything about what happened from him if he was the guilty one so… Legolas sighed, loosened his grip on the dwarf's shoulder and cleared his throat.

"As you know, Thorin, son of Thráin, son of Thrór, that there are many different elf races. The races might seem to be quite different from each other but there are some common factors in between them. One of them is the law nobody speaks about nowadays; it's mentioned us once and only once. After that nobody says a word about it. The only time when it's mentioned is because we need to know about the existence of that law.  
The law deals with the deadly sins. In Mirkwood realm we have twelve of them. Only one of them matters now, the one which is common in between all elf races. And that sin is waking a dead one to life. That goes against the laws of the nature and it's a huge sacrifice for the elf who performs the spell. In that… Ritual, I could say, an elf transmits his or her life power into a corpse. Usually it's half of the time the elf wants to live" Legolas begun to explain. When Thorin still looked like he didn't get the point the elven prince continued on his explanation.

"Thorin Oakenshield, you died in the battle. And now you're standing there! Guess why it's possible? Guess why my father is in that condition?  
Yes, the King under the Mountain. My father performed that spell which goes against the nature. My father performed that spell, woke you up from the dead and became a mortal. I have no idea how long he has planned to live but he will be alive just as long as you will. He might day the same second than you do. If you die in a battle before the time is up… He will die too" the prince said.

He didn't pay attention on Thorin's horrified face. No, he was still wondering why his father had wanted to save the dwarf in a way like this. If anyone ever had used this spell… It had been an elf in love so powerful he or she would have committed a suicide without this sin.

 _"_ _The word spread around_

 _Like a dragonfire_

 _That the once mighty king_

 _Was now mortal and tired_

 _The spell was now_

 _Destroying him inside_

 _He knew now how it felt_

 _To be afraid to die…"_

The months went by and Thranduil hadn't moved away from Erebor. Well, at least the elven king had his own quarters now but all of the dwarves didn't approve his presence at all. "Why is he here? He isn't that ill anymore, why can't he go back to Mirkwood to sit on his mighty and gorgeous throne?" they mocked. Every time Thorin heard some of them saying something like that he sighed inwardly. He hadn't told them that the elven king was still tired even though it had been months he had performed the spell on Thorin. The elf wasn't in a good enough condition to rule his kingdom (the rumours said that Legolas had already claimed the throne) and that's why the two kings had decided that it would be the best if the elf stayed in Erebor.

Thranduil was still hiding information from Thorin. When the elven king had woken up he had admitted that he had performed that spell. However, he hadn't answered their other questions at all. He hadn't even told how long Thorin and he would live! That still angered Thorin; he thought that he had at least the right to know the amount of his days. Of course he was thankful to the elven king but some information just wasn't made to be hidden and this was a part of it.

After a while Thranduil had told Thorin that he was still feeling guilty what had happened sixty-one years ago. He told that his army wouldn't have been strong enough to save Erebor yet it would have been a huge help to dwarf army. The blond king had sighed and decided not to speak anymore that night. Well, at least they knew now why Thranduil had waken Thorin from the dead. At least a part of it…

The elven king was hardly ever seen among the dwarves. Just a couple of times he had come to join a feast (well, he still couldn't say no to any feasts) but despite those times he had locked himself up in his quarters. And, well, they ate the dinner in Thorin's quarters but still. The elf was still quite tired and now when he knew the number of his days he had also become a bit anxious – yet he believed that he had made a right decision. Now Erebor had a king. The only lack in the kingdom was the lack of the queen but searching for one wasn't something Thranduil wanted to help with. No, it would make the old memories surface again. He had had a wife, very beautiful and strong elf who had tragically died quite a while ago. That elven woman had meant everything to him; she had practically been the one who had made the life worth living for.

After her death Thranduil had become all anxious and dark. The wine had been his best friend for way too long – in the end one of the elven soldiers, Faendir, had found the king lying unconscious on his own bed not reacting to anything. The healer (Rothruindes was her name) had managed to save the king from poisoning. After that the prince had demanded that no wine would be given to his father when he was alone. No wine or other alcohol products, the prince had said.  
After that Thranduil had also understood that even if his wife wasn't alive anymore, he was and he had a kingdom to rule. That's why he studied his feelings for a while and then locked them into his heart, turning their surroundings into ice. He had been able to rule everything but he always felt that he lacked something. Then he had visited Erebor – and seen Thorin.

There was also another reason why Thranduil didn't want to help the dwarves to find a queen for their king. The reason was that he himself was attracted to the dwarf, even though it was highly unlikely to happen – especially when Thranduil had been in love once already. The elves weren't supposed to love but once. The day when Thranduil had seen Thorin for the first time… The elf could never forget it. The young dwarf prince had been standing next to the throne looking at the elf with his icy blue eyes. The dwarf's face had been unreadable even to Thranduil. And mysteries… Well, the elven king had always liked them.

But the past was the past and now was now. Thranduil sighed, looking himself from the mirror. Of course he could act on his feelings. He could do that – except that if Thorin didn't love him back it might destroy everything. Especially Thranduil.  
The elf startled when he heard the door of his room opening. He turned his head a bit, seeing now that it was Thorin who silently approached him before stopping by his side.

"You seem to be deep in thought."  
It wasn't a question; Thorin had just simply said it. Thranduil nodded, looking at the dwarven king. "Yes, I was just… Thinking. Now Erebor has a king and I have seen many dwarven maidens looking at you admiration in their eyes – yet I haven't seen a queen anywhere. Why's that, the King under the Mountain?" the elf asked, keeping his eyes on the smaller creature.

The question had taken Thorin by surprise. Why was Thranduil thinking about that? Didn't the elf have anything better to do? The dwarf just stared at the elven king for a moment before being able to answer him.  
"The Elven King, I will answer your question… If you answer my questions first. I have a lot on my mind yet I haven't received much desired answers. The answers I need and the answers I have a right to hear. So, the great Elven King of Mirkwood, here are my questions. How much time we have left and why do you care so much about the fact that there Erebor doesn't have a queen?"

 _"_ _The questions like that_

 _Took the sinner by surprise_

 _He wouldn't want to answer_

 _But the dwarf was right_

 _So he told him_

 _Why he had_

 _Left his own kin_

 _And chosen_

 _The fate so sad…"_

Thranduil knew that he couldn't escape answering anymore. Or actually he could have but there wouldn't have been any point; the dwarf would have asked him the same questions again and again and he didn't want to face that.  
The elf turned his back to the dwarf and walked to the bookshelf, picking up an old book. He put it onto the desk and opened it, pointing at the spell and the explanation of it. But Thorin, who had never tried to study any elvish languages, didn't understand a word and Thranduil had to explain everything.

"You already know that I woke you up from the dead. I might have mentioned at some point that I also split my time in two. Note that I speak about the time I wanted to live; being immortal isn't so fancy that some may think. And I already knew that even though I'm powerful both physically and mentally ruling a kingdom for a few thousand years more would have been almost impossible task to do. When you died I understood that Erebor needs a king. I already have a great heir who will become a great king one day. I didn't have much to lose – except my immortality but living forever sounds pretty exhausting.  
I woke you from the dead and chose our time. Our lives will continue for three hundred years now. It's not a lot for me, I know, but it's enough. By that time your body will give up by nature, I'm quite sure of that – and you get to live those three hundred years more. Without my spell you wouldn't have lived those" the elven king said.

Thorin didn't know what to think. Thranduil could have lived thousands and thousands of years more yet he decided to live for six hundred years and split it in two to give him life? The dwarf didn't quite get the elven king's logic but he had a feeling that he would understand sure.  
"How about my other question?" the dwarf went on, still processing the information he had just gotten. Thranduil smirked at him. "Answer my question first, the King under the Mountain. Answer that and I might consider answering your other question" the elf said. Thorin almost grimaced but he kept his facial expression calm.

"I have seen those dwarven maiden admiring me. I have seen many beautiful faces among the crowd. I know that many of them want to become a queen. And it's true; Erebor might need the queen or at least I would need an heir" the dwarf begun. Something inside Thranduil shattered into pieces; so the dwarf was looking for a bride. But then Thorin continued.  
"I might want to produce an heir someday but marrying someone and making her queen… Those maidens there didn't fight in the battle of the five armies. They don't know me as a person. They admire my looks, not the person behind them. They admire the fact that I'm a king yet they have no idea what that actually means. Being a king… We both know how it is, Thranduil. We both know. They don't. They think that being a queen would be never-ending partying yet, at least for the dwarf, it isn't" the King under the Mountain said silently.

Now it was Thranduil's turn to be confused and Thorin's turn to go on.  
"It's true that the king is usually seen with the queen. I, however, have no intentions to marry one of those maidens. They didn't fight beside me. They don't admire me as a person. And most importantly… They didn't sacrifice their life for me. They're women, very honourable maidens. Strong by will. I bet that one of them would be a perfect queen… But none of them would satisfy me as a lover. I have never set my eyes on any of them and I never will since I have already set my eyes on someone else."

There was a long silence. Thranduil tried to process the information he had just gotten from the dwarven king. So Thorin had someone but that one wasn't one of the dwarf maidens? Maybe an elven maiden then? Thranduil would actually be quite pleased with that, especially if the one was Tauriel; then the elven woman wouldn't be able to marry Legolas and Erebor would have a queen. Tauriel was a good and strong soldier who was still able to love and share justice. To be honest, Thranduil thought, the woman would make a good queen.

"Is it, perhaps, someone from Mirkwood?" the question was in the air before the elven king was able to stop himself. Thorin nodded at that.

"Well, I suppose you mean one of my best soldiers then… Tauriel is her name as you already know" Thranduil started but was silenced by the gaze Thorin threw at him. The dwarf walked a bit closer, soon standing right before the elven king. For a minute there was a silence; Thorin was studying the elf's face. The icy mask was perfectly put in its place… Except the eyes. The look in them was something the dwarf couldn't quite describe but it was like he had seen… Fear in them? Yes, definitely fear and perhaps disappointment.

Thorin sighed silently.  
"Were you even listening, Thranduil? I never said that there should be a queen by my side… I never spoke about a woman. I am speaking about the man I once considered as a traitor and a fool. I am speaking about the man who was the one who saved me in the end. The one I set my eyes on long time ago is you, Thranduil. It's you I'm talking about."

 _"_ _The odds were by the sinner's side_

 _Well, that's at least what he thought_

 _The dwarven king didn't want a wife_

 _But a man with whom he'd fought_

 _Against the foreign armies_

 _And the dragon from the north_

 _By those words the history changed_

 _By those words and_

 _The love of the two lords."_

For a moment the elven king lost his ability to speak. Had Thorin been talking about him all along? Could it really be that the dwarf had set his eyes on… Him? On the sinner and the man he had despised for dozens of years?

The answer became quite clear when the elf felt the hard lips of the dwarf against his own soft ones. At that moment their worlds united, their souls became one; the spell was now sealed. Thranduil hadn't actually known that one fact – that the spell was usually performed by an elf who had just lost his or her lover. The price to pay was quite hard since one had to give up on his or her immortality but the prize of that was usually the love, entwined destinies in both good and bad. That was something the elf hadn't known or noticed but now they felt clearly what happened.

When the two kings finally parted Thorin smiled a bit.  
"I'm still pretty sorry that my life cost half of yours – even though you tried to tell me that you did it because living eternally isn't your thing, I still feel sorry for you. Yet, at the same time, I'm happier than I've ever been. Truly shows me how things, even sins, aren't just black and white…"

And Thranduil couldn't agree more.

A/N: So here it is. My first Hobbit fic. This is actually written for my boyfriend as a birthday gift so happy birthday darling! ^_^ I hope that you others also enjoyed this even though the characters are pretty OOC. I'm not very good at writing love stories (as you may have perhaps noticed) and this time I REALLY tried to make the atmosphere romantic... Doesn't feel like I succeeded though.

I know that I should update my Potter fics but... I'm stuck. :I Well, maybe I'll start to write that one Hobbit fic I've had in mind quite a long time now... We'll see.


End file.
